The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1887-04-17
TWO NIGHTS OUT.
How an Ogden Youth Played
- Even With a Rival.
PLEASURES OF A SPORTSMAN
Discovered-Jules Verne. Jr.,
Discovered in Salt Lake.

Has it ever been the lot of the reader
to find monotony in the common walk:
Of hfe-in the everyday comforts Of
home, with its three meals day and 6
.ather bed at night? If not. to you
would say, continue to be WISE" but
if you have one of those dissatisfied
turbulent souls, troubled with domestic
ennui, possessing a continuous longing
for semi.romantic adventures, etc.,
would advise you to take little sojourr
after ducks, similar 10 the one 1 an
about to relate.
A youthful fruit vendor from Ogden
had been visiting friends in Salt Lake
and while here had fallen in love with
one of Zion's fair daughters, neglectine
entirely the northern fruit crop, to dea
in cupid's tender wares.
All went well until certain Univer-
sity student, whom we will call the
chemist, came boldly on the scene and
with his algebraic eloquence and chem
|
the damsel from the Ogdenite, and ap-
propriated the same unto his own use.
The northern admirer hied himself
homewards, where he min gled with the
figs and peanuts, pruned the orange and
banana, and laid dark schemes of VEN
gaance on his successful rival. The
chemist has brother, who like himself
j. the possessor of a fertile Imagination
| MI tur laI nd
with disposition equally susceptible to
foreign pleasures; SO when an invita-
| ton came from the fruit vendor to join
him and another in a wholesale duck
slaughter, we both took the bait and
started ont for couple of days of this
glorious sport.
We reached Hooper switch at $50 o.
m, where We met the fruit vendor and
his Hooperviile friend, who was a pro-
fessionai sport in the way of bagging
ducks, and was called the duck slayer
on account OF his knowledge of their
ways and whereabouts, and his art of
woolng them into his meshes.
Seated behind half -spanking team,
We soon reached Hooper, where we were
well entertained at the duck slayer's
home; we call the team half-spanking.
because one of the horses was a wide
awake, willing animal, and the other
was one of these old, antediluvian
yellow plugs that require a certain
amount of spanking" to induce them
to go faster than walk. We Toasted
on good country supper and numer-
Gus duck stories, and most of the night
was spent in building. up our imagina-
tons and emptying soda-water bottles.
At an early hour in the morning, we
drove two miles to the Weber River
where we boarded large sail boat, well
suppliedwitheatables ammunition guns,
tent. stove and other little sundries
that add pleasure to the sportsman.
Three miles sailing brought US to the
mouth OF the river, where the fresh
water flows into the Great Salt Lake,
upon the bank of which we pitched our
tent, far away from the haunts,of men,
in the midst of salt, solitude and sage
brush. where none could dispute our
right or drive US from our temporary
home.
Equipping ourselves, we started for
more distant point, where the ducks
were passing to and fro. looking almost
like flying clouds; and this would l say
to -the Salt Lake sportsmen who HE
themselves unto the Jordan or the Hot
Spring Lake with a pair of field glasses
to bring the far off solitary duck within
the range of their vision, and fire anon
into the air with the hope of disabling
the aerial fowl by the sudden and oft
repeated explosions of gunpowder, 90
ye unto the mouth of the Weber and
gaze upon the myriads of ducks that
there abound, and your heart will fairy
bubble over with Joy.
Well, they are certainly numerous, as
the four OF US "bagged" over 300 in two
days shooting. The first evening was
pleasantly spent in piucking our
ducks, spinning yarns and reducing the
avoirdupois of our stock of provisions;
the fruit vendor related many of his ex-
periences of similar expeditions, which
were exceedingly numerou. considering
his tender age. He knew every foot of
ground, every sage brush and sand
knoll, and had personal acquaintance
with nearly every old duck in that sec
ton of the country. The chemist also
entertained US with his college learning,
explaining how to ascertain the latitude
IN mid-ocean, how to get the dimen.
slons OF planet. and the distance from
the moon; also how to extract sugar
from old rags and paper, and to convert
sage-brush into wine.
The morning of the next day was
-SPSAtAOA "a IaC ldSt, III luS WAY Oh
duck-killing and absorbing the eatables.
but towards 4 O'Clock the weather
looked black and stormy, and with a
pathetic soul 1 suggested returning to
Hooper at once, but the fruit vendor,
who delegated himself captain of the
squad, opposed the suggestion, So we
concluded to remain. Just at dusk
fierce wind sprang up from the west,
and as our stock of fire wood was low
the chemist and fruit vendor started out |
TO replenish the same, going to knoll |
a quarter of mile distant, where sage. |
brush could be gathered in large GUAM
titles; duck slayer and l remained to |
cook supper.
Just as they reached the knoll. the |
storm broke on US with all its fury. |
bringing darkness blacker than he ace |
of spades. and the rain fell as never |
saw it fall before; and to make matters
worse, the lake. which was at least two
feet lower than camp when we pitched
the tent, began rising, or rather ru hing
eastward from the effect of the heavy
wind, and the tent floor was soon sinh
merged in about eighteen inches of
water. For few moments things were
exceedingly lively for u.s. While / made
. pyramid OF our chattels, consisting of